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Big Sky Commerce Review

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Founded in Montana in 2003, Big Sky Commerce boasts plenty of positive Google and Facebook reviews. But that doesn’t give you the full story. What about features, services, and costs?

The company serves almost all industries, including those designated “high risk.” (It may even be able to open accounts for businesses selling CBD products.) Whether you need to take EBT cards, fleet cards (such as WEX and Voyager), or set up pay-at-the-pump card acceptance, Big Sky can help. Additionally, the company is familiar with level 2 and level 3 data – important for B2B transactions.

In its own words, Big Sky tells CardFellow:

Big Sky Commerce is celebrating our 16th anniversary in 2019 while remaining a privately-owned company based in Montana. We are passionate about customer service and pride ourselves on providing the highest level of support to our merchants. In the ever changing payments world, we are constantly researching and evolving to provide cutting-edge technology to our customers at a competitive price point. We often hear stories of businesses misled by large, global payment corporations, where their customers are just another number and sales agents frequently jump to other companies. Big Sky Commerce values our relationship with each of our merchants and we never lose sight of the importance of communication. Our staff is knowledgeable, friendly, and dedicated, which is demonstrated by our outstanding online reviews. We serve businesses of all sizes and most types, and we especially enjoy supporting small businesses by offering low processing rates which allows for more resources to be focused on growing the business. We are proud to work with nonprofits and are consistently giving back to our community in various ways. Please contact us anytime!

Credit Card Processing Services

Big Sky Commerce provides a full range of credit card processing services, allowing you to take Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. You’ll also have the option to take fleet cards (such as WEX and Voyager) or EBT cards.

You’ll have your own merchant account and can accept cards in person (called “card present”) or online (called “card not present”) as necessary.

Business to Business Transactions

Any company that takes payments in a B2B environment should consider a specialty B2B solution. By providing extra information (called enhanced data) not needed for consumer transactions, you can qualify for lower interchange rates. Big Sky Commerce supports providing enhanced data, allowing you to save money.

B2B credit card processing is a specialty niche of payment processing, but it’s important enough that you shouldn’t shrug it off if you accept a lot of corporate cards. Be sure to check out our guide to enhanced data for B2B transactions.

Pricing Models

The right pricing model can be the key to the right processing solution. Big Sky offers the model that CardFellow requires for our members: interchange plus. However, the company can also set you up with an automatic surcharge program if you prefer to pass fees to your customers. (And are in a state where that’s legal to do!)

Keep in mind that even where it’s legal, surcharges can only be applied to credit card transactions. You cannot surcharge debit cards.

Deposits and Fee Deductions

For no additional fee, Big Sky Commerce offers next-day funding as long as you batch out by 6:00pm CST.

When it comes to paying your processing fees, Big Sky has a choice of daily or monthly discounting. At CardFellow, we recommend monthly discounting, as it’s easier to reconcile. With monthly discounting, the processor will deduct all of your fees for that month once. On the flip side, with daily discounting, fees come out of each day’s sales.

Other Services

In addition to credit card processing, Big Sky offers a gift card program, a loyalty program, merchant cash advances, and fraud prevention tools. Some programs and services are optional while others are required.

Gift and Loyalty

These days, more businesses offer gift cards for sale and loyalty programs to encourage repeat business. Big Sky offers both through Valutec. For gift cards, you can customize the card to match your branding. With a low 100 minimum card order, it’s easy to get started and the cards integrate with major POS systems. There is a monthly and per-transaction fee for card redemption.

The loyalty program includes an app for customes to track their loyalty rewards. You’ll have the option to set up either a points-based system or a “punch-card” style system. A monthly fee applies.

Cash Advances

Business owners with less-than-perfect credit may not be eligible for small business loans, but typically are eligible for cash advances. While it’s not strictly a loan, it functions in similar ways. You receive a lump sum of money, but instead of paying back a fixed amount each month, you repay the sum through a deduction of a portion of your daily credit card sales. That means that you pay more on high sale days and less on low sale days.

In order to qualify, you need to be in business for at least 1 year before applying and have monthly minimum credit card sales of at least $5,000. Additionally, you’ll need a personal credit score of 600 or higher. The minimum cash advance amount is $5,000 and the maximum is $500,000.

Anti-Fraud Tools

In the age of regular fraud, taking advantage of anti-fraud tools protects you and your customers. Big Sky offers NMI’s iSpyFraud and Authorize.Net’s Advanced Fraud Detection Suite. Neither are required, but they’re a good idea for online businesses. iSpyFraud will cost you $10/month, but the Advanced Fraud Detection Suite is available at no added cost if you use Authorize.Net as your gateway through Big Sky.

Data Breach Protection and PCI

In addition to fraud tools, Big Sky offers data breach protection. Unlike the fraud suites, this service is required, and will cost you $9.95 / month. Big Sky will also assist with PCI compliance, helping ensure that you meet security requirements for accepting credit cards.

Big Sky Commerce Rates

As a processor offering interchange plus pricing, Big Sky sets the rates individually for each business. That means the company doesn’t publish actual rates that you’ll pay.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t see pricing for your business with no commitment. Become a CardFellow member (it’s free!) to use our quote request tools to get real pricing.

Cancellation Fees

If you cancel within a year, you can expect a $300 early termination fee. In some cases, Big Sky can offer month to month agreements, which would not be subject to the cancellation fee.

Credit Card Machines and Equipment

Big Sky processes on First Data’s platform and thus supports many First Data machines. For basic countertop terminals, the company recommends the FD130 / FD35, as they’re user-friendly. If you’re looking for a full point of sale system, the Clover station provides access to many different apps, allowing for a customized machine at a reasonable price. (Big Sky also sells accessories, including cash drawers, barcode scanners, and receipt printers, so you can further customize your own set up.)

Not swiping cards in person? Big Sky can set you up with the NMI or Authorize.Net gateways to accept payments online. The company prefers those due to the user-friendly nature and easy integration with various popular shopping carts.

Big Sky even has options for specialized processing situations, such as gas station processing. It supports Ruby, Gilbarco, and Passport options.

In all cases, Big Sky sells equipment and does not engage in leasing. That’s great to hear, as CardFellow strongly opposes predatory, expensive credit card machine leases.

Big Sky Commerce Reviews

At the time of publication, Big Sky has exclusively 5-star reviews on Google reviews and Facebook. The nearly two dozen reviews on Google praise the company for their consistent support, fast service, excellent staff, and savings on credit card processing. The handful of Facebook reviews echo the sentiments, praising the staff, service, and cost.

Additionally, Big Sky has an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau’s website.

SATISFACTION

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CUSTOMER SERVICE

0/5

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SATISFACTION

RATES & FEES

CUSTOMER SERVICE

3.3/5

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Posted by CardFellow on Jun 11, 2019

SATISFACTION

RATES & FEES

CUSTOMER SERVICE

3.3/5

Big Sky Commerce offers interchange plus pricing for transparency. The company is quick to reply to questions.

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